About Spine Group Orlando

Maahir Haque, M.D.

Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon
Fellowship-Trained in Spine Surgery
Specializing in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Dr. Maahir Haque is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, who is also Fellowship-Trained in Spine Surgery. Within his Orlando spine center practice, he specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery.  

Dr. Haque specializes in the treatment of neck and back pain using the newest evidence-based methods.  Dr. Haque's primary goal is to provide the highest-quality care to his patients in the least invasive manner so they may return to their functional lives as quickly and comfortably as possible.

Given his extensive training, Dr. Haque is able to truly tailor a patient’s treatment plan to his or her individual needs and goals.  Whereas spine surgery used to require a lengthy stay in the hospital, many of Dr. Haque's patients are able to go home on the day of their surgeries.  He performs spinal injections, endoscopic discectomies, kyphoplasties, minimally-invasive fusion techniques, motion-preserving procedures including disc replacement procedures, revision spine surgical procedures, and complex reconstructive spinal surgeries.

Dr. Haque is actively involved in the national and international spine surgerycommunity.  He has published a number of peer-reviewed articles in spine surgical journals, including the leading journal Spine.  He has given a number of podium presentations in a variety of meetings including at the prestigious Scoliosis Research Society.  A devoted teacher, Dr. Haque was a clinical instructor at Brown University and currently holds a faculty appointment at the University of Central Florida. He continues to lecture in spine surgery topics and to instruct other surgeons in advanced spine surgical techniques.

Dr. Haque is a proud Floridian and is excited to return after many years away from home.  He was born and raised in South Florida. He currently resides in the Orlando area with his wife, who is a practicing cardiologist in the community.  In his spare time, Dr. Haque loves playing golf and is a true fishing enthusiast, he never misses a chance to take his children fishing. 

  • The University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree
  • The University of Florida College of Medicine
  • Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for his orthopaedic surgery residency training
  • Completed his Spine surgery fellowship training at the prestigious Brown University.

How to select the best spine surgeon in Orlando

Symptoms like radiating pain in a leg or arm, or numbness and weakness in a leg or arm, typically indicate a disc related problem, or stenosis, which can require spine surgery to permanently correct to relieve symptoms long term.

In the search for a spine surgeon, a person can become confused about the wide variation in spine surgeons. Over the years, spine surgery has been provided by orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons. 

However a general orthopedic surgeon can spend his or her time doing knee or hip replacement, or simple shoulder or knee surgery, in addition to spine cases. Neurosurgeons, likewise, can spend a lot of their time doing brain surgery and trauma cases related to head injury from car accidents.

Medicine in major cities has become super specialized in that the best spine surgeons ONLY do spine surgery, and do not split their time addressing other problems. That enables the trained spine surgeon to do more than 200 spine surgeries each year, which produces the highest level of competence. Like anything else in life, practice makes perfect. 

About Fellowship Training

In addition to being a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Haque is also Fellowship Trained in Spine Surgery.

A fellowship-trained spine surgeon means that the orthopedic spine surgeon or spine neurosurgeon completed an additional year of training specifically in their specialty, performing highly complex spine surgeries in a regional spine center. 

These ortho spine surgeons and neuro spine surgeons become proficient in spinal cord surgery; nerve decompression; spinal fusions; minimally invasive surgery techniques using tubular retractors the size of ballpoint pens; and the most advanced artificial disc replacement in the lumbar and cervical spine.

Maahir Haque, MD is recognized as a leader in the field of minimally invasive spine surgery. At Spine Group Orlando, Dr. Maahir Haque also provides second opinions for spine surgery and MRI reviews for those with back pain and neck pain. Dr. Haque emphasizes non-surgical options for back pain and neck pain where possible. This can include accessing a back pain specialist with expertise in pain-relieving spinal injections and spine therapists. Spine therapy can include back stretches that can be a future home remedy for back pain or neck pain. If spine surgery is necessary because of a herniated disc, spinal fracture, or spinal stenosis, Dr. Maahir Haque operates through tubular retractors that reduce the size of the incision, lessen blood loss, reduce time in the hospital, speed return to activity with a less painful recovery. This spine surgery expertise enables many patients to have outpatient spine surgery and be home the same day. Spine Group Orlando and Dr. Maahir Haque provides artificial disc replacement in the neck using the Mobi-C disc implant, the first FDA-approved disc for multiple levels in the neck. Prodisc-C is also used for artificial disc replacement in the cervical spine. Dr. Haque is also one of the few spine surgeons in Orlando, Florida to provide lumbar artificial disc replacement using the Prodisc-L artificial disc. Dr. Haque is also referred patients from across Orlando and north central Florida for artificial disc replacement surgery as an alternative to spinal fusion. Accordingly, Dr. Haque's patients travel from across north central Florida, including: Orlando; Jacksonville; Tallahassee; Lakeland; Gainesville; Tampa; Daytona Beach; and Cocoa Beach. The spine center, as a destination for medical tourism for some international patients from Mexico and the Caribbean, can provide recommendations to out-of-town patients on nearby hotels and tourist attractions. Dr. Haque is featured on the national site CentersforArtificialDisc.com as an author on the subject of artificial disc replacement for herniated discs in the neck. The Centers for Artificial Disc web site has content specific to disc replacement options and alternatives to spinal fusion. Click here to visit the Centers for Artificial Disc.